Beckers partners with SOS Children's Villages on cross-border youth employability program
A new global partnership supports Beckers 2030 ambition to positively impact children & youth in the countries where it operates, with the first pilot running in South Africa.
Beckers has launched a cross-border partnership with SOS Children's Villages through YouthCan!, the global employability program that helps young people prepare for working life. The partnership adds a new international dimension to Beckers' community engagement, connecting colleagues across countries while building on the local expertise and initiatives already in place.
“This partnership gives us a practical way to connect the experience and knowledge of our colleagues with young people who are preparing for working life. At the same time, it gives us a shared global opportunity that can complement our local partnerships and enable more countries across Beckers to contribute to our ambition for children and youth,” says Åsa Larsson, Global Sustainability Manager at Beckers Group.
YouthCan! brings together companies, SOS Children's Villages, and young people who would otherwise face significant barriers to employment. Through career inspiration sessions, mentoring relationships, and practical training, the program helps young people develop the skills, confidence, and networks they need to enter the working world. For Beckers colleagues, the partnership offers two ways to contribute: shorter career inspiration sessions covering topics from CV preparation to workplace readiness, and longer-term mentoring relationships supporting individual young people over t several months.
“Around 260 million young people worldwide are currently outside employment, education or training. Partnerships like this can help turn that challenge into opportunity by connecting young people with the skills, networks and experience they need to enter the world of work. We see the Beckers support in South Africa as an important first step in building a partnership that can create lasting impact and grow over time.”
Why South Africa
Youth unemployment is a major challenge in many countries, including several where Beckers operates. South Africa was selected for the first pilot because it combines a strong local need with an established YouthCan! Infrastructure and the practical conditions needed to launch from a cross-border pilot.
Beckers colleagues in South Africa already run their own local community engagement initiatives. The global partnership sits alongside that local work rather than replacing it. As the partnership develops, further pilots are expected in other regions over time.
Part of a broader commitment
The partnership supports the Green Lights commitment to positively impact children and youth in the communities where Beckers operates. It reflects Beckers’ ambition to contribute positively to the communities where we operate by supporting young people in their development and preparation for working life.
Long-term community engagement of this kind also reflects Beckers owner Lindéngruppen’s expectations for its companies. Partnerships are designed with a long-term perspective, clear frameworks and regular follow-up, rather than as one-off initiatives.